


Pie and Secrets

by alba17



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-30 01:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1012633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alba17/pseuds/alba17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A coffeeshop AU where Ichabod works at the diner and Abbie and Sheriff Corbin discuss the strange goings-on in Sleepy Hollow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pie and Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Written for jainot's prompt for a Sleepy Hollow coffeeshop AU at comment_fic. It's really more of a semi-AU, since the coffeeshop already exists in canon, I just rearranged some of our characters.

Abbie threw herself into the booth by the window, the one she and Sheriff Corbin always shared. The sheriff was already there with his coffee and apple pie a la mode, his eyes staring off into the distance as they often did. Abbie could never tell if he was seeing something no one else could or if he was just spacing out. 

“Would you like some refreshment, possibly of the caffeinated variety?” 

That was Ichabod of course. Weird Ichabod. Everyone in town called him that. Ichabod had always been something of an outcast around Sleepy Hollow. No one could really get a handle on him. Abbie was one of the few who could tolerate the guy. Truth be told, she found him entertaining, with his tall tales and eccentric attire. If you looked beyond the strangeness, he was really quite attractive. Not that she would admit that to anyone. 

“Ichabod. I’d love a coffee, thanks. And maybe a slice of blueberry pie, no ice cream.”

Ichabod gave her that serious look he always had, memorizing her order. He refused to write anything down. Something about the devil stealing his words or something ridiculous like that, who knew. “Yes ma’am, blueberry pie and coffee.” He gave a little bow in his preciously formal way – Ichabod was really quite sweet, and he could be funny if you gave him the time of day – and loped off behind the counter to put in the order.

Jenny was wiping down the counter and she gave Abbie the evil eye. She didn’t like it when Abbie came in and Ichabod took her order. It was weird, but then anything to do with Jenny and Ichabod was. Abbie sighed and exchanged looks with Sheriff Corbin. The diner was what it was, one of the few places in Sleepy Hollow where you could get a cheap coffee and a bite, so they ended up here more often than not. 

“How’s it going?” Abbie asked.

Corbin stirred his coffee. “Oh, you know, the usual.” He paused. “Something strange down at the Braeburn farm though. You know Mrs. Braeburn?”

“Sure.” Everyone did. Mrs. Braeburn tended toward the melodramatic. But then, many did in Sleepy Hollow. The police files were filled to bursting with reports of odd occurrences. You got used to it.

“Well, she called up tonight, said she saw a headless horseman in her back yard. Taller than six feet, she says. With a sword.”

Abbie rolled her eyes. “Oh good lord. What next.”

“Not the first time someone seen him, you know. Bit strange.” The sheriff sipped his coffee and with a clinking sound, put it down in the saucer.

“I don’t know, Sheriff.” 

“I know you don’t, Abbie, but…well…I’ve known Sally Braeburn a long time. If she says she saw something, she did. We might have to look into this.”

Abbie looked over to the counter where Ichabod was fussing over some silverware. “If you say so, Sheriff. I don’t it like it, though. We should focus on the real stuff, you know? Not some fantasy.”

The sheriff looked at her for a moment before responding. “Abbie. You remember when we first met? What you thought you saw in the woods? It’s not some fantasy and you know it. There’s something strange going on in Sleepy Hollow. Always has been.”

Abbie swallowed and heat flooded her face. She didn’t want to remember. She held on to the things she could see and hear, not phantoms. Her lips thinned. “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t think we should be spending taxpayer’s money on delusions.”

Corbin’s eyes pinned her down. She tried not to squirm, holding her ground. They’d been over this territory before and she wasn’t going to budge now. Corbin had his views and she had hers. 

Before she could respond, Ichabod brought over her pie and coffee. “Thanks, Ichabod,” she said.

“It’s my pleasure,” he replied with a slight incline to his head. He gave her a little smile before he retreated behind the counter.

The sheriff watched him. “You ever friends with that guy?”

“Who? Ichabod?”

“Yeah.”

“Not really. We were lab partners in 10th grade chemistry, but that’s about it.”

“You never went out?”

Abbie felt hot again. “No. God, Sheriff, he’s always loved Katrina, didn’t you know that?”

“Jesus, Abbie, she’s been gone for five years. He still sweet on her?”

“As far as I know. He’s never gone out with anyone else.”

The sheriff’s brow furrowed and he glanced at Ichabod. 

“Why?”

“No reason.” His face cleared but Abbie felt there was something that remained, that clouded his expression. She punched her fork into her pie, frowning at the sheriff. 

The sheriff chewed on his pie. His jaw worked automatically while his eyes drifted to Ichabod and back to Abbie. “Yeah, no reason,” he repeated.

“You sure do love your secrets, don’t you, Sheriff?”

He took a moment before replying. “Well, here’s the thing, Abbie. I’ve got some personal projects I’m working on. I could really use some help, but I need to know you can handle it. And I don’t think you’re at that point yet.”

“Sheriff, I’ve taken all the training this department has available. I’ve passed all my tests with flying colors. I don’t know what else I can do to prove myself to you.”

“All the training in the world wouldn’t prepare you for this stuff, I’m afraid. It’s all got to do with attitude.”

Ichabod came over with their bill and the sheriff went quiet. “I trust your pie was satisfactory?” Ichabod asked, hands clasped behind his back.

“Delicious as always,” the sheriff said with a smile. “Tell Martha she can come to my house and cook for me any day, open invitation.”

“I think she’s well aware of your affection for her cooking and her person, Sheriff Corbin.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try, now does it?”

“I suppose not.” Ichabod grinned before retreating behind the counter.

The sheriff wiped his mouth with his napkin and rose to leave. “You stay and finish your pie, Abbie. I’ve got some things to attend to.”

“But…” Abbie was still steamed about the sheriff’s brush off and she wanted to know what the hell he was talking about, these personal projects that she _wasn’t ready_ to get involved in.

The sheriff put his palm out in a calming gesture. “I know you want to talk some more and we will. Maybe after you finish this case you’re working on. You’re eager and I like that, but there are some problems in this town that require a little more life experience to handle. You’ll get there.”

Abbie scowled. “But Sheriff, I know I can…”

“Not now, Abbie. But soon. I promise.”

The bell tinkled on the door as he exited the diner, leaving Abbie to ponder the nature of those personal projects and whether they were related to the strange events that regularly occurred in Sleepy Hollow.


End file.
